The Trauma Center at Boston Children's Hospital treats children with a wide range of these injuries — from minor to the most severe.
Most children treated for trauma suffer blunt injuries from unintentional falls, motor vehicle crashes, or bicycle accidents. Other children may to come to Boston Children's with a penetrating injury, burn, or other trauma.
Injuries that our Trauma Center team members care for include:
- abdominal and chest injuries
- burns
- central nervous system injuries:
- injuries to the spinal cord or column
- brain injuries
- injuries to extremities
- fractures
- cuts and bruises
Our Trauma Nurse Leader Program
Boston Children's Trauma Nurse Leader Program is dedicated to enhancing the quality of care and safety of our pediatric trauma patients.
Our Emergency Department's corps of six specially trained and deeply experienced Trauma Nurse Leaders are now collaborative members of the Trauma Center team. They serve as multidisciplinary physician liaisons and subject matter experts, and they extend their knowledge to other members of the care team.
Our Injury Prevention Program
Injury prevention in the community
Boston Children's Injury Prevention Program (IPP) has a strong presence in the Greater Boston community, as well as in our hospital. Our IPP community liaisons work with local leaders to adapt injury prevention programs to community use, and to provide best-practice injury prevention strategies to meet the needs of these diverse communities. We host monthly safety fairs that concentrate on such critical areas as fire safety, child passenger safety, and home safety.
Injury prevention for patients and their families
The IPP's liaisons provide patients and their families with the appropriate injury prevention information, education, and resources they need — such as helmets for wheeled sport injuries, or window guards for window falls.
The Safety Store
The IPP has developed and sponsors the Boston Children's Safety Store in the hospital lobby. The store makes low-cost injury prevention products, resources, and educational materials are easily available to all.
Orthopedic Trauma Program
Boston Children's Orthopedic Trauma Program works closely with specialists in our Emergency Department and Trauma Center to provide coordinated care for children with musculoskeletal injuries. Children with acute or serious injuries are evaluated during consultation in the ED.
New trauma/ER database
Under the direction of Travis Matheney, MD, Boston Children’s database of orthopedic ER trauma cases — nicknamed "OrthoDUDE" — has begun outcomes research, in which we track/compile orthopedic trauma data, such as:
- type and location of fractures (such as an end-of-the-radius/wrist fracture)
- outcome (quality improvement)
- did the injury require admission to the hospital?
- how was the injury initially treated
The information gathered from this ongoing tracking study will further influence how specialists in Boston Children’s Orthopedic Trauma Program care for children by providing accurate, comprehensive tracking and outcomes data.